


Moving the Line

by Sokorra



Series: Derek Tag Series [2]
Category: Smash (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5881282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sokorra/pseuds/Sokorra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is confused, drunk, and not sure of anything but that Ivy is his friend.<br/>(Episode tag for "The Fallout" and "The Dramaturg" )</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving the Line

  
The first time he met her, he hadn’t had much of an opinion. He was too irritated about having to audition for the role of director/choreographer.  She had just been the blonde actress that Tom insisted on using, the one whose video drew him to the project.  Professionally he might have been impressed by her talent, but wasn’t something that stood out to him later on.

He honestly wasn’t sure when she stopped being the background noise and started appealing to him on a more personal level. Perhaps it was the confidence she had strolling into that room. He knew it was faked, they all did, but it was believable enough that had they all not known she had been late for a reason, they would have believed it.  Then she sang like she believed every word.

At that point, Karen hadn’t been Marilyn yet, he had just been attracted to both of them. And in the end it was Ivy who gave in, and in retrospect he was glad it had been her.  He and Karen would never have worked out, not in the long run, and certainly not as long as he and Ivy managed.

It originally was supposed to be something short lived, but somehow he kept finding himself back with her.  And she became a friend as well as a lover.  She allowed him a little leeway as her director, but there was a point where she pushed back.  And he was surprised how long it took for her to actually try and use their relationship to impact their professional one.  He was used to it being much sooner, and a lot less subtle.

It got comfortable, going to her place two or three times a week, occasionally having her over at his. He regretted that in the weeks following the break-up, trying to rid himself of the reminders, trying to remind himself that Karen was his focus now.  He never could completely rid himself of Ivy though.  She had been his friend, his lover and in some cases professional partner. It had been working together that had upset the balance.

Well, mostly.  He’s pretty sure sleeping with Rebecca Duvall would have ruined things even if Ivy hadn’t been there to witness it all.  It would have eventually gotten back to her. He had never really felt guilty before, and it only really settled in when he saw her face at Eileen’s post-preview party.  It had frozen him, making him unable to utter anything, even to tell her she was being let go.  But she knew anyway.  She seemed to understand things before he could utter them.

He had been surprised by how quickly she had accepted it and walked away, when it had seemed like she was such a fighter before.  Of course that surprise was quickly overturned by Eileen’s news.  He tried calling Ivy later that night, trying to see if she was okay, as he still cared for her even though things had been a mess before they were over.  But she hadn’t picked up.

And that was the point he really understood things would be different.  And it wasn’t just the lack of having someone there when he came home to take away the loneliness.  It wasn’t just the lack of Ivy.  It was simply that her swift removal from his life was the start of the downward spiral the next year would be.  He couldn’t ignore things anymore.

He supposed the first time he realized how much he had started to care for Ivy, that she might be the closest thing he had to a best friend was when he was drunk on her stoop.  He hadn’t realized how much he had invested in her opinion till she gave him that look that said she believed the accusations.  Or maybe not believed, but she didn’t trust that they weren’t all lies.  

And even he had been surprised by how forcefully he challenged her quitting acting.  He couldn’t imagine why she would; theater was a part of her as much as it was part of him. While Karen might have been the vision inside his head, there had never been any doubt in his mind that Ivy Lynn had the talent to go somewhere. The idea that she would quit seemed unthinkable to him, drunk or not.

He might have just gone home to deal with her rejection (which he had been expecting, to be honest) and his future hangover, but then Tom had called and asked her to come to the Gala.  For the first time in weeks he found himself standing in her kitchen, waiting for her to get dressed.  He hadn’t thought she’d appreciate if he followed her into her bedroom. He was just sober enough not to try and challenge that.

He had let his drunken thoughts wonder, looking around him if seeking any differences since the last time he was here. He found nothing, but he also didn’t find any traces of him still around.  He wasn’t sure if that had been because he had been too careful to leave any, or because she had found it easier to scrub him out of her life then he had of her.

It had been a depressing thought, and he was glad to hear her saying she was finished a moment later.

“I probably could do better,” she said her voice getting louder as she came down the short hall.  “But I didn’t think they wanted to wait that long.”  

“Probably right, Tom seemed a bit anxious.”  She looked gorgeous and perfect and while it might have been the alcohol talking he just wanted her for himself at that moment.  She had her hair down, which he always liked.  She looked like a fairy princess like that, sometimes.  He couldn’t find the words to tell her, so he just held out an arm.  “May I escort you to your engagement?”  He had called a taxi a few minutes earlier.

“You may,” she said with a grin, and it seemed so much like old times he almost forgot for a moment that it wasn’t. She led him out of the door, and down the hallway, and his hand found its way to the middle of her back.  He dropped when she tensed a little and allowed her walk ahead of him a little.

The ride over to the gala was silent for the most part, but oddly comfortable.  He rested his head against the headrest, closing his eyes.  He was starting to sober up, and his body was reminding him that he was nearly 40 years old and thus not as capable of dealing with the punishment he put it through tonight.

“You alright?”  He smiled at the genuine concern in her voice.  

“Yeah, just in need of water and aspirin.”

“Well, I don’t have water, but I can help with the aspirin,” she said digging into the clutch she had brought, bringing out a small tube of pain killers.

“Thanks,” he said taking two and dry swallowing.  He grimaced at the taste that lingered.

“Did you really think drinking your weight in scotch was going to help the situation?” she asked, her voice tinged with both amusement and concern.

“No, but it seemed better then listening to people automatically believe them to be true.”

“Well, you have garnered yourself a reputation for finding your partners at work.”  She pointed out.  “And the whole thing with me probably didn’t help that reputation.”

“It wasn’t...”  He opened his eyes and looked at her.  “It wasn’t just about work.” It was probably one of the first times he was perfectly honest about their relationship. And while his starting motivations were simply to pass the time, it had grown from that into something more.  Something he wasn’t ready to look too deeply at.

“I know,” she said sadly.  “I wouldn’t have stayed with you so long if I thought you were just using me to pass the time between rehearsals. Although I will admit right after Boston I half wondered if you were.  After all you claimed that you slept with Rebecca to get her easier to deal with.”

He couldn’t really refute that. He also didn’t miss her tone.  There was a part of her that did believe that now, that he had only been interested in her to make her more malleable. He didn’t know how to reassure her that she wasn’t. Even if she had been, it clearly had backfired because it hadn’t made her any more interested in following his every direction.  And his feelings on the matter were less than clear.  
Rebecca had been clear and pointedly about work.  And it had started a cascade that just made things _worse._

They arrived at the gala before he could formulate an answer.  Her attention wasn’t on him anymore, anyway.  Her smile had returned, and she looked dazzling even as he followed her into the ballroom.  Eileen, Julia and Tom were eagerly awaiting them and Tom and Julia immediately took Ivy to the stage.

“I didn’t know the two of you were still seeing each other,” Eileen asked conversationally as Tom and Julia introduced Ivy on stage.

“We aren't,” he answered, ignoring the lingering disappointment he didn’t really understand.  “I just happened to be with her when you called.”

Eileen didn’t respond as the music started to play, but he didn’t miss the look that said she wasn’t quite sure she believed him.  However, it was still more amicable than she had been earlier in the day so he took it as an improvement.

Ivy blew the audience out of the water. Blew _him_ out of the water.  He found himself amazingly proud of her as she sang, and everyone in the room was mesmerized, feeling everything she sang.  And as she turned to leave, she gave him this big smile, one he’d never forget because she looked so amazingly happy and he realized that he hadn’t seen that in way too long.  And part of that was his fault.

When she reached him, he kissed her hand and wrapped it around his arm to lead her out of the Gala and into the waiting car where the rest of them joined them.

“That was amazing, Darling,” he complimented as they settled into their seats.  She was clearly still on a high from performing because she didn’t correct him on the pet name, just grinned and squeezed the arm she hers was still wrapped around.

“It was.  Oh, it felt good to perform again.” Her enthusiasm bolstered him a little, and he couldn’t help smiling.

“You were brilliant Ivy,” Tom stated, his face also stretched with a grin.  Eileen looked pleased with herself and for the first time since the party Julia looked like she was all there.

“How about a drink to celebrate?”  Eileen asked, already turning to give the driver directions.

“I would, but I have an audition tomorrow morning.”  Ivy said reluctantly.  “And I’m not sure Mr. Scotch here will have a liver left.” He rolled his eyes good naturedly at the others amusement.

“I didn’t drink that much.”

“You were rambling on about Rockettes.”  She said with a raised brow.  “Sitting on my apartment steps even though you still have the key to it.”

“Didn’t think you would appreciate me just going in.”  Suddenly the easygoing feel of the car seemed to be replaced with tension as he had unwillingly reminded them both that they weren’t together anymore. Her smile slipped some and he felt it as if it was a hit.  The others seemed to sense it too.

Eileen filled the accompanying silence with giving the driver directions to both Ivy and Derek’s apartments.  When he exited the car and looked back as he shut the door, he felt like he might be missing something, an opportunity, he wasn’t sure.  But his eyes met hers as the doors closed.  He watched the car pull away without saying anything.

When the next week he couldn’t figure out what was wrong about Karen’s version of _Move the Line_ , he never admitted to himself that a certain blonde’s version was stuck in his mind. That what he was looking for was Ivy, and that Karen wasn’t able to become another person.

 


End file.
